Syed Shemul Parvez :
Every year during the sacred month of Ramadan, a disturbing trend emerges as certain unscrupulous businessmen exploit the occasion for personal gain.
They brazenly hike the prices of essential commodities and resort to using adulterated and harmful materials in the preparation of iftar, all in pursuit of greater profits.
This egregious behavior poses significant health risks to the public.
The consumption of adulterated products has led to a surge in various illnesses, and tragically, even fatalities.
In a welcome development, the law enforcement authorities have recently become more vigilant, particularly following the remarks of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Her strong stance against those who artificially inflate prices by hoarding essential goods has spurred action. Consequently, efforts are underway to identify and penalize illegal hoarders in order to stabilize the prices of daily necessities throughout Ramadan.
Both the police and the elite force RAB have intensified their efforts to address the issue, utilizing mobile courts empowered by the Special Powers Act to crack down on illegal stockpiling practices.
In response to these actions, the Save the Environment Movement (Poribesh Bachao Andolan-POBA) has called upon the authorities to persist in their efforts to hold dishonest businessmen accountable for price gouging and the use of harmful chemicals in food items.
They have further urged the government to enforce key legislation such as the Consumer Rights Protection Act of 2009, the Food Safety Act of 2013, and the Formalin Control Act of 2015 to safeguard public health and consumer rights.
During a recent crime review meeting at police headquarters, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun issued directives to senior police officers to take proactive measures to curb the escalation of commodity prices. It has been decided to enhance surveillance measures to ensure that market conditions remain stable leading up to the commencement of Ramadan. Police officials have announced plans to closely monitor the product supply chain during this period of heightened scrutiny. Commander Khandaker Al Moin, Director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, affirmed RAB’s commitment to curbing hoarding and extortion of goods-carrying vehicles to prevent an unjustified increase in commodity prices during the upcoming Ramadan season.
Emphasizing a zero-tolerance approach to price manipulation, Commander Al Moin declared that strict legal measures would be taken against individuals, regardless of their status, who engage in unjustifiable price hikes through hoarding practices. He reiterated that RAB would spare no one involved in such activities, underscoring the need for heightened intelligence surveillance and operational activities across all RAB battalions to effectively tackle this issue.
In response to the escalating concerns, Additional Inspector General of Police Mohammad Ali Mia, who heads the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), has disclosed that 12 specialized teams from CID are actively deployed to monitor markets and identify dishonest businessmen responsible for inflating prices of essential commodities and using harmful chemicals in food items.
Furthermore, CID has intensified surveillance efforts nationwide, including in the capital, to regulate commodity prices effectively, as stated by the CID chief.
Offering insights into the complexities surrounding this issue, Dr. Tawohidul Haque, Associate Professor of Social Criminology at the University of Dhaka, highlighted the challenges faced by the government in controlling commodity prices during Ramadan, citing the influence of powerful syndicates.
Dr. Haque noted that while domestic traders often raise prices in response to international market trends, they rarely decrease prices when international commodity prices fall. Moreover, he underscored the lack of stringent laws and enforcement mechanisms, which allow dishonest businessmen and syndicate masterminds to evade detection and punishment.
